He Loves Her
by Lizwontcry
Summary: Takes place between 5x16 and 5x17. After Emily gives Luke a talking to at the diner, he knows what he has to do now. But he has something to say to Lorelai first-well, after all the kissing, that is.


**A/N - Okay, so I've been binging this show hardcore lately and I haven't watched the full series yet. I'm on 6x4. I've kind of been waiting for some kind of declaration of love between Luke and Lorelai but they kind of skipped that and went straight for the marriage proposal. Well, okay, but I'm gonna need a little more than that. So this is after Emily comes to Luke and tells him that Lorelai chose him and she won't interfere anymore. I thought it was kind of weird that we went right from the kiss to the next day when they're just kind of...back together. Which is cool and all, but again...I need more! So yeah. This is obviously my first Gilmore Girls story so I would appreciate any feedback I can get! Thanks for reading.**

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The sky was dark but clear, and the moon and the sky full of stars illuminated the path to Lorelai's. Of course, Luke had been down this road so many times, he could walk there blindfolded. It was kind of late and the town was quiet and peaceful, which gave Luke a few minutes to ponder his next move. See, he knew what he had to do now. He'd just spent the last few weeks (or was it months? Hell, it could have been years by now; it was all the same to Luke at this point-even a _day_ without Lorelai seemed like an eternity) determined to move on and get this devil woman out of his head, but who was he kidding? It was Lorelai. It had always been Lorelai.

He had let this go on too long. The night Lorelai left that long, scary, rambly message on his answering machine, he knew she felt just as crappy as he did, and that should have meant something. But he wasn't over it. Lorelai had lied to him about Christopher and Luke couldn't get past it. He had the sinking feeling that this would happen over and over again if they continued the relationship. Chris was Rory's father and basically the love of Lorelai's life, and Luke couldn't compete with that. So...he wasn't going to try.

Luke didn't anticipate how hard it was going to be, though. Life without Lorelai was terrible. Meaningless, almost. Like Luke had lost something he didn't know he needed and now he doesn't know how to find it again. Lorelai Gilmore was over-caffeinated, she had the most disgusting diet, her family was a mess and she made so many references that he could never understand even if he wanted to. But she was also the most loyal woman he'd ever met. She was gorgeous and independent and strong willed and loved her daughter more fiercely than Luke knew was possible. How had he lived without her by his side all these years? And why did he think he could walk away from that? He was all in, and had been ever since she gave him that stupid horoscope eight years ago. Of course he always suspected he had feelings for Lorelai, but it hadn't hit him like a truck until recently-when he saw her face.

It wasn't getting any easier, either. His usual customers were coming in less and less to the diner, probably because the food was crappy and Luke couldn't bring himself to care. This was _not_ him. He did not stop his life down because of a woman. He had never been like that and never wanted to be like that. Even after his divorce, he managed to keep it together for the most part. But this was different. Lorelai...was different. So when Emily came into the diner and had something to say, Luke listened. He was not a fan of Emily Gilmore for obvious reasons, but she said what he needed to hear. Lorelai had chosen him. And now he was going to choose her.

Luke didn't waste any time. He had no idea what he was going to say when she opened the door (_if _she even answered the door) or what he was going to do or how they were going to get this back on track, but he wasn't going to think about it much because every second he spent not looking into her eyes was one second too long. And when she finally did open the door, he was so relieved to see her that he couldn't even talk, and so he kissed her. And they kissed forever. And ever. They didn't even make it upstairs; most of their clothes were off by the time they got to the couch. Lorelai managed to find the remote control to turn off A Star is Born, thankfully. No words were needed for what happened next. Luke missed this. He missed kissing her and touching her and becoming one with her. Before they got together, Luke would admit he had his moments where he thought about what it would feel like to make love to Lorelai Gilmore. Well, he was pleased to learn after their first date, it was even better than he imagined.

When it was over, and it was not over quickly, Lorelai exhaled and said, "Well, that...happened."

"Yes, it did," Luke said, happy and confused and possibly ever other adjective in the world.

"I'm glad it did."

"Me, too."

Well, they were certainly on their way to a conversation, maybe.

"Luke?" Lorelai asked tentatively.

"Yeah?"

"Well, _why_ did it happen? We've barely spoken to each other lately. You know, Rory practically had to scrape me out of bed when it first happened, and it's just been recently that I've started to feel like myself again."

"Yeah, I know," Luke said. "It's been hard for me, too, Lorelai." He knew what she was asking, he just wasn't quite ready to answer the question.

Lorelai sighed. "So why now? Were you just craving some brown sugar Pop-Tarts? Because I have some in the kitchen, I can go make you some right now. Ooh, or I have some marshmallows and chocolate chips! Oh, no, I ate those already."

Now would be the time to tell Lorelai before she started inventorying the entirety of her kitchen. So Luke took a deep breath and muttered, "Your mother."

Lorelai's expression immediately changed to one Luke's seen a thousand times over the years. The "I can't believe what my mother just did" face.

"My mother? What the hell did my lovely mother do this time? Did she threaten you? Did she send someone to threaten you for her? Did she-"

Luke took Lorelai's hand in his, which temporarily stopped her thought train from derailing. "She came to the diner. Of course I had no interest in talking to her, but she had a little something to say. She said you two aren't speaking, and that you've had many battles in the past and she thinks she knows what's best for you, but you've made up your mind. That...well..."

Lorelai poked him in the arm. "Well, what?! Come on, Luke, spit it out!" She was so impatient, Luke thought. So adorably inpatient.

"She said you chose me, and I should go back to you." Luke said. He knew how that sounded and was kind of ashamed it took Lorelai's mommy to get him to do what he always wanted to do, anyway. Kind of embarrassing any way you look at it.

"Oh, I can't believe her! She's incredible, right? She thinks she can just come into the diner and boss you around like that. Unbelievable." Lorelai shook her head, but she was kind of smiling, too. If nothing else, Luke hoped this would maybe repair some of the damage between Emily and Lorelai. They both deserved to be happy...some more than others.

"What are you smiling about?" Luke asked.

"Well, I'm just impressed. With her. How she can basically get anyone to do anything. I mean, how long would it have taken you to finally come here if she hadn't demanded you to do it?"

"I don't know…" Luke said. "I knew I wanted to, but I just couldn't let go of this whole pride thing I got goin'. I know I would have come back eventually because, Lorelai, Emily is not the only one who can get anyone to do anything."

Lorelai frowned. "Oh, well, that's romantic. Take me in your arms, sailor, and carry me out of this joint all Richard Gere-like."

"You know what I mean," Luke said, hoping to get back in her good graces soon.

"I don't, though. I'd kind of like to think it would be sooner rather than later. Let's face it; we're going to fight again, Luke. And if you're just going to walk away and not let me in until you're done stewing about it, I can't handle that! I can't, and I won't. I need communication."

Luke nodded. "Okay, you're right. You deserve better. I...will work on it." It was going to be hard, though. Luke was so used to walking away from relationships at any sign of trouble, but Lorelai needed more than that.

"That's all I want to ask for right now, so...thank you." Lorelai said, and gave him kind of a weird, sexy smile. Damn, he loved her smile. Who wouldn't love Lorelai Gilmore's smile? Sometimes it seemed like every poem ever written was about her and that smile. Every love song, every movie, every book, every work of art. Every sunrise and sunset. Man, Luke had it bad. He had seen Lorelai at her absolute happiest, like when Rory got into Harvard and Yale and Princeton, and he had seen her at the most vulnerable of moments, like when she got the call that Richard was in the hospital and she didn't know if he'd make it. Luke couldn't deny it anymore, and he had to tell her. It was kind of implied already, he thought, but now it was time to make it official.

"Lorelai...I love you. You know that, right? You have to know that."

He'd never forget the way she looked at him at that moment. Never. Her eyes were so full of hope, yet he knew there was also a certain kind of resistance, too. She'd been hurt too many times before to truly love with an open heart. It was going to be hard, but he was going to show her it was okay to trust him; to let him into the parts of her soul that had been damaged for so long.

Lorelai looked happy and thoughtful. "Oh, Luke, I love you, too. I didn't realize it for a long time, even though practically everyone else knew before me. Rory, Sookie, my mother…I think even the whole town realized before I did. But I get it now. I don't want to fight it anymore, but it's hard. It's really hard to be in a relationship with me, I'm warning you right now. I have so many things, you know? I mean, I know you love Rory, but she's always my first priority.

"Of course she is, Lorelai. Everybody knows that."

"Well, good," Lorelai said. "Because she is. And there's the inn, and the nightmare only my parents can create, and…"

"Christopher." Luke said. Well, someone had to say it.

"Yes, there's Christopher. And not just because of Rory, either. He's my friend, Luke. He's been in my life for a long time and even when I try to cast him out, we always seem to come back together. But it doesn't go further than that anymore, Luke, I can tell you that right now."

"I realize that's how you feel, but what about him?" Luke said. This was good; they were talking about it instead of avoiding the issue altogether. They were growing up. They were making each other a priority. Or something. "He doesn't seem to respect your relationship very much, from what I've seen."

Lorelai sighed. "Look, he's been a little unhinged since Sherry left, but I am 100% sure he knows where I stand now. But I can't promise, and I _won't _promise, that I'm not going to see him every now and then. But I can promise there won't be tequila involved. And I will always tell you if I see him, and I won't keep that part of my life separate from you."

In a perfect world, Christopher wouldn't exist, Luke thought. But if that were true, neither would Rory. Luke knew Lorelai was a package deal, and he was going to have to find a way to deal with that. Because, well, he wanted to be in her life. He wanted _her._

"Okay."

"Okay what? Okay, you want the pop-tarts? Because I can make 'em right now." Lorelai said.

"Okay, I get that your relationship with Christopher is important to you and Rory. Just please don't freeze me out next time, you know? Fill me in. I understand more than you think."

Lorelai smiled, and kissed him lovingly. "That means so much to me, Luke. So…we're going to try this again, then? You know the whole town is going to have something to say about it. Think of all the ribbons!"

"Yeah. Let's do this again. Better this time," Luke said. "Babette and Patty needed something else to talk about, anyway."

Lorelai exhaled. "Good. I missed you so much. And you know what? I love you a lot. Like, a lot, a lot. I'd put you right between beef burritos with extra sour cream, and really, really hot coffee." Her eyes were shining, and she was happy. Luke loved to see her happy. He'd spend his life trying to make her happy if she let him.

"Ah, so better than burritos, but not as good as coffee?" Luke asked.

"Does that really surprise you?"

"Not at all." He took the remote control from the table and turned A Star is Born back on.

Lorelai laughed. "Oh, you really do love me!"

She draped her legs on top of him and they watched the rest of the movie. When it was over (and after Lorelai made herself a Pop-Tart), they held hands and made their way upstairs, where they fell into bed and were asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow. It was going to be better this time around. Maybe not easier, but better, and it was definitely worth it.


End file.
